I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to synchronization in ad hoc peer-to-peer networks.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication; for instance, voice and/or data may be provided through wireless communication systems. A typical wireless communication system, or network, can provide multiple users access to one or more shared resources. For instance, a system may use a variety of multiple access techniques such as Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and others.
Wireless communication networks are commonly utilized to communicate information regardless of where a user is located (inside or outside a structure) and whether a user is stationary or moving (e.g., in a vehicle, walking). Generally, wireless communication networks are established through a mobile device communicating with a base station or access point. The access point covers a geographic range or cell and, as the mobile device is operated, it may move in and out of these geographic cells.
Sometimes a network can be constructed utilizing solely peer-to-peer communication without utilizing access points or can include both access points (infrastructure mode) and peer-to-peer communication. These types of infrastructure are referred to as ad hoc networks or independent basic service sets (IBSS). Ad hoc networks can be self-configuring whereby when a mobile device (or access point) receives communication from another mobile device, the other mobile device is added to the network. As mobile devices leave the area, they are dynamically removed from the network. Thus, the topography of the network can be constantly changing.
To facilitate communications with other devices, synchronization is received from a timing source, which can allow the devices to perform certain functions (e.g., peer discovery, paging, and so forth). However, if there is a timing discrepancy or a timing offset between two or more devices, it can cause problems and can require further synchronization among the devices.